Warnings have been issued to students to take extreme caution after several poisonous adders were spotted on Cambridge University grounds.
Students at Robinson College were sent an email alerting them to the new visitors after the reptiles were spotted in Grange Road just a short walk away from The Centre for Mathematical Sciences.
The email, as reported by Cambridge News, read: "Dear College Members and Staff. There have been several sightings of snakes probably including adders around the wildlife areas of the college... The advice from the Forestry Commission, which is also our recommendation, is to treat adders (and other snakes) with respect and leave them alone."
According to the Forestry Commission: "The adder is the only venomous snake native to Britain. Adders have the most highly developed venom injecting mechanism of all snakes, but they are not aggressive animals. Adders will only use their venom as a last means of defence, usually if caught or trodden on."
No one in Britain has died from an adder bite for more than 20 years and with proper treatment, the worst effects are nausea and drowsiness, followed by severe swelling and bruising in the area of the bite.